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Hi! In October 2010, I moved from San Francisco to Manhattan with my husband, daughter, and twin boys. Since then I've been busy teaching myself and my kids how to hail a cab, fly a kite in Central Park, and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with style. And a few other things. I write about those other things here. Thanks for stopping by!
Email questions to sharonbeesley@gmail.com.

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12/14/11

New York City Holiday Windows

My first assignment for NY Family was to write about the window displays in NYC. I wrote the basic outline for the article in the office yesterday, but I needed the real life experience to put the finishing touches on the piece. I needed to observe how my kids reacted to each window. Which windows needed me to lift them up to see it better? Which windows had my kids asking the most questions? Which windows were better seen in person than through online pictures?

In the end, all of my questions were answered easily. It turned into an unplanned, unexpected magical night. All I had to do was dust off my double stroller, pack way too many gloves/hats/jackets and walk over 30 city blocks. Nothing to it! We began at the Macy's in Herald Square (pictured above), then crossed over to Fifth Ave and headed north until we got to Barneys (below). Dare I say it? I think window watching is another holiday tradition! Add it to the list.

My favorite window display? Tiffany and Co's (above). There’s just enough room for two people to look inside each tiny window at a time so it creates an intimate experience. The effect is lovely. Every window is a dreamy world filled with carousels. I eventually got tired holding up each kid so they could see but the effort was worth it. It’s almost as if everything on 5th Ave. stopped and I was finding a great city secret. But then I remembered, Oh yeah. It's Tiffany's. On 5th Ave. Millions of people have seen these windows. But it felt like it was mine! Check out more pictures here.

Update: I kept reminding myself to be calm and nice to my kids today. It worked for the most part. They still annoyed me a few times. "Get your hands out of the Nutella! Stop that!" And take a wild guess who really tested me when he accidentally peed his pants on the bus ride home. I watched the whole thing happen. More importantly, guess who didn't get mad and promised not to tell anyone? Me!

I went to London a few years back and the window displays at the department store Selfridges were absolutely amazing. I would love to see what New York has to offer! There is something magical about them, almost like life size snow globes.

What beautiful pictures, as a kids I'd visit my grandparents in London at Christmas time, they'd take us to a show and we'd have our picture taken outside of the decorated store windows like Selfridges and Hamleys, very magical memories. Well done on not getting too mad!Emily.www.everydayemily.com

Love those window displays! I love the last one most of all, because I happen to love carousels, too. My son enjoys riding this particular one at the mall, which is one of those old-fashioned, Tivoli-esque carousels complete with circus elephants and a Cinderella carriage. Wonderful. I hope to one day see the sparkly decorations of NYC one day!Stopping by from DailyBuzzMoms; we're top 9 buddies today. Happy to have found your blog!